Jesse Jackson; Iran nuclear talks; Alex Pretti : NPR

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Today’s best stories

The United States and Iran are expected to meet today in Geneva for negotiations. This is the second round of negotiations aimed at discussing the limits of Iran’s nuclear program. The United States wants concessions from Iran beyond its nuclear program and has associated the negotiations with a threat by strengthening its military forces in the region.

Protesters wave Iranian flags of the 1979 pre-Islamic revolution in front of the United Nations office ahead of indirect nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran in Geneva on February 17. The US president has warned Iran of potential consequences if it fails to reach a deal with the United States, as negotiators prepare for the latest round of negotiations in Geneva.

Harold Cunningham/AFP via Getty Images

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Harold Cunningham/AFP via Getty Images

• 🎧 Today’s meeting is a good sign that both sides remain open to these negotiations.even as the United States and Iran remain firm in their demands, said NPR’s Jackie Northam. First. President Trump wants Iran to have no nuclear weapons and no enrichment. Iran insists it has the right to enrich uranium for research and civilian purposes. Iran has indicated it may be open to reducing, not eliminating, its nuclear program, Northam says. Iran brought with it a large technical team to Geneva, a gesture which shows its seriousness.

Nine people are on trial today in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, in connection with a non-fatal shooting that occurred outside an ICE detention center last July. About a dozen people demonstrated against Trump’s immigration crackdown and deportation efforts outside the Prairieland Detention Center in nearby Alvarado. At one point, police and prosecutors say shots were fired, injuring a local police officer.

• 🎧 The case is unique because the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed the indictment. against the defendants is the first in the country against “violent Antifa cell members,” said Penelope Rivera of NPR station KERA. Eight of the individuals are charged with providing material support to terrorists, and one is charged with attempted murder of a federal officer. Jason Blazakis, executive director of the Center on Terrorism, Extremism and Counterterrorism, says it is difficult to connect the case to Antifa members. There are no federal laws for domestic terrorism. So, if the government succeeds in convicting these individuals, it could set a national precedent in prosecuting alleged left-wing movements, according to Rivera.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, American civil rights leader, minister and politician and protégé of Martin Luther King Jr., died today. at the age of 84. Jackson helped reshape Democratic politics in the 1980s with two galvanizing presidential campaigns. According to his family, public memorials will be held in Chicago. Here’s a closer look at Jackson’s life, from his presidential bids to his later years of activism.

Federal authorities again denied Minnesota criminal investigators access to evidence and other documents they collected after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, state officials said yesterday. Pretti, an intensive care nurse, was killed by Border Patrol agents last month in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has been excluded from the investigation since the shooting. Despite this, the BCA continues to seek access to evidence as the state conducts its own investigation.

Live better

Living Better is a special series about what it takes to stay healthy in America.

The U.S. government is urging Americans to avoid highly processed foods, saying they fuel diet-related illnesses. Many people want to reduce these foods but have difficulty identifying them, especially when it comes to carbohydrates. Ultra-processed foods are factory-made with ingredients rarely found in your pantry, like preservatives and artificial sweeteners. Studies have shown that these foods increase the risks of multiple health problems, including diabetes and depression. Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, who directs the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University, says he gives his patients two practical rules of thumb to follow when selecting grains and starches:

• 🍞 The 10 to 1 test means that a food must contain at least one gram of fiber for every 10 grams of carbohydrates.
• 🍞Try the water test where you take starchy foods and put them in a glass of water. Leave for a few hours. If it doesn’t dissolve in water, it’s probably a minimally processed food.

From our hosts

by Michael Martin, Morning edition And First host

When I first heard the story of what happened to Giséle Pelicot, I couldn’t believe it. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say that I didn’t want to believe it – and it turns out she didn’t either.

Her husband had drugged and raped her for almost half a century while she was unconscious in their home in southeastern France. He’d been doing this for almost a decade – and not only that, he’d actively solicited other men to do the same thing. He caused some 70 men to rape his own wife. And he filmed it all. He is serving a maximum sentence of 20 years for his crime. And all the men who could be identified – around twenty of them were not – were also convicted.

When I spoke to Madame Pelicot for a story you will hear on Morning edition And Sunday’s story this week, linked to the release of his new book A hymn to lifeone of the first things she told me was that when she first saw the tapes, she didn’t recognize herself. His brain couldn’t accept that it was her.

It’s one of the most disturbing stories you’ll ever hear about sexual assault – and it says something in a world in which we know that women, children and, of course, men, have been violently abused in times of war and peace, here rich and powerful men have traded girls with each other for fun, and where vulnerable migrants seek work and become slaves. This goes on and on.

It’s difficult to understand how humans can do this to themselves, regardless of the circumstances. But as someone who was in a long marriage myself, I couldn’t and don’t understand how someone could do this to someone they supposedly loved, who gave birth to his children, who carefully prepared his favorite meals, and someone who, on the day he was arrested for what he did to her, dropped off a bag of warm clothes and clean underwear in prison for him.

I still don’t understand. But what I took away from my conversation with Pelicot was fear. She was calm, open and fearless. She spoke about the most difficult things with such gentleness and kindness that I could only marvel at the source. She ended her book and our conversation by saying that she still believes in love. “To fight against emptiness,” she writes, “I need to love.” What a message. What a challenge. What a gift.

3 things to know before you leave

Actor Robert Duvall in 2005.

Mark Mainz/Getty Images North America

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Mark Mainz/Getty Images North America

1. Robert Duvall, who appeared in more than 90 films during his decades-long acting career, died Sunday. He was 95 years old.
2. Kristi Reeves, reeling from the news of her finalized divorce, sought solace in the mountains. On the trail, she encountered a couple, her unsung heroes, who were descending as she climbed. The woman praised Reeves for doing the hike solo. Reeves began to cry and explained that his divorce was final. The woman then gave Reeves a comforting hug that left her feeling changed.
3. Yesterday, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration must restore slavery exhibits at the site of Philadelphia’s President’s House on Independence Mall. (via WHY)

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